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Electrical Glossary
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Alternating Current (A/C)
Amp
Apparent Power (KVA)
Constant Voltage Transformer
Current
Dedicated Circuit
Direct Current (D/C)
Frequency
Grounding Conductor
Harmonic
Harmonic Distortion
Impedance
Kilo Volt Ampere Reactive (KVAR)
Line Conditioner
Linear Power Supply
Ohm
Power Factor
Real Power (KW)
Reactive Power
Resistance
Surge
Surge Protective Device
Switch Mode Power Supply
Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
Volt
Volt-Ampere (VA)
Voltage
Watt (W)
Watt Hour (Wh)
Waveform Distortion
Alternating Current (A/C)
An electrical system in which voltage polarity and current flow alternates direction on a regular basis. Your home is an example of a system that is powered by AC.
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Amp
A unit of electrical flow. In a water system, the flow of millions of water molecules would be expressed in terms of gallons per minute. In an electrical system, the flow of millions of electrons is expressed in terms of amps or amperes.
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Apparent Power (KVA)
The amount of power that is apparently consumed by a load. Apparent power is measured in VA or volt-amperes and is calculated by measuring the current consumed by the load and multiplying it by the voltage powering the load. It is the vectorial summation of KVAR and KW.
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Constant Voltage Transformer
Maintains a relatively constant output voltage for variations up to 20% in the input voltage. CVT’s are frequently a ferro-resonant style of transformer in which the voltage is regulated by means of current stored in a magnetic field. CVT’s are generally high impedance devices that are unsuitable for most modern computers with switch mode power supplies.
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Current
The "flow" of electricity. Much like water, a current will follow the path of least resistance. As a result, electric current always finds the easiest path to ground. Current is measured in amps or amperes.
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Dedicated Circuit
An obsolete method for providing clean, noise free power to a computer system. A dedicated circuit is one in which dedicated phase, neutral, and safety grounding conductors are run continuously from a distribution panel to an electronic load. The conductors may service only the dedicated load and the phase conductor must have its own circuit breaker. Furthermore, the dedicated conductors must run in their own dedicated metallic conduit or raceway with no other conductors present. The neutral and ground conductors may not be "daisy chained" or shared with any other circuit. The ability of dedicated circuits to guarantee a noise and disturbance free environment is insufficient for the high processing speeds, low operating voltages, and mission critical nature of modern technology.
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Direct Current (D/C)
An electrical system in which current flows in one direction only. A battery is an example of a direct current source.
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Frequency
In an AC system, the value of the voltage sinewave rises from zero to a maximum, falls to zero, increases to a maximum in the opposite direction, and falls back to zero again. This would describe one complete cycle. The number of complete cycles occurring in one second is called frequency. The General Conference on Weights and Measures has adopted the name hertz (abbreviated Hz) as the measurement of frequency. In North America, the frequency is 60 Hz. In Europe and most of Africa and Asia it is 50 Hz.
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Grounding Conductor
The physical conductor connecting the chassis of an electrical or electronic device to the electrical system’s grounding means. Sometimes referred to as the safety ground, this conductor may be a green insulated conductor, a bare copper wire, conduit, gutter or raceway. The purpose of the grounding conductor is provide a low impedance pathway for fault current in the event of a short circuit so that a circuit may be quickly de-energized to prevent a fire hazard or electrocution.
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Harmonic
A whole multiple of the basic power frequency. On a 60 Hz system the 2nd harmonic is 120 Hz, the third harmonic is 180 Hz, the fourth is 240 Hz and so on.
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Harmonic Distortion
The alteration of the normal voltage or current wave shape (sine wave) due to equipment generating frequencies other than the standard 60 cycles per second.
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Impedance
Impedance is the opposition offered by a material to the flow of an electrical current in an AC electrical system. Impedance has two parts - resistance and reactance. Impedance is measured in ohms.
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Kilo Volt Ampere Reactive (KVAR)
KVAR is reactive power that magnetic equipment (transformer, motor and relay)
needs to produce the magnetizing flux.
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Line Conditioner
A device that provides for the electrical power quality needs of the connected electrical or electronic load. In the case of a linear power supply, a line conditioner might be a voltage regulator. In the case of a switch mode power supply, a line conditioner might be an isolation transformer with a noise filter and surge diverter. In the case of a simple electrical device like a motor, a line conditioner might be as rudimentary as a surge diverter. The term line conditioner is frequently misused. It must be understood that not all line conditioners function alike, and the capabilities of a line conditioner must be matched to the power quality needs of the connected load.
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Linear Power Supply
A power supply which converts AC power into the DC power that is needed to operate an electronic circuit. In a linear supply, the AC voltage is first stepped down, then rectified, and then regulated using a series regulation device. Linear supplies obtain their name from the fact that there is a linear relationship between the value of the AC sine wave voltage and the power supply’s consumption of current from the AC circuit. Linear power supplies are generally less efficient because the series regulator dissipates large amounts of heat in the process of producing and regulating the DC output voltages. In addition, linear mode power supplies may require well regulated AC input voltage. One benefit of linear power supplies is that they produce little electrical noise.
Mission Critical Load: Devices and equipment identified as important or essential to the safety of personnel or the economic health of a business.
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Ohm
A unit of resistance and impedance.
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Power Factor
The ratio between Watts and Volt-Amperes. This ratio is generally expressed as a decimal fraction. A power factor of 1.00 is unity.
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Real Power (KW)
The amount of power that is actually consumed by the load. Real power is measure in watts and is calculated by measuring the current consumed by the load and multiplying it by the voltage powering the load and then multiplying by the power factor of the load.
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Reactive Power
Reactive power is the difference between apparent power and real power. It is calculated by subtracting real power from apparent power. Reactive power is measured in VAR (volt-amps reactive) or kVAR (kilovolt/amps reactive)
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Resistance
The opposition offered by a material to the flow of a steady electrical current in a DC circuit. Resistance is measured in ohms.
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Surge
A sudden dramatic increase in voltage that typically lasts less than 1/120 of a second.
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Surge Protective Device
A device that is designed to limit instantaneous high voltages. Also known as a surge suppressor, surge arrestor and transient voltage surge suppressor (TVSS). These units are satisfactory for reducing the amplitude of catastrophic events. However, they function by diverting excess voltage to the safety ground of the electrical system. In the process they create a common mode disturbance which can disrupt the function of microprocessor based electronic systems.
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Switch Mode Power Supply
A power supply technology in which the AC power is converted into DC power for use by an electronic system. SMPS technology uses switching transistors operating at very high speed to keep a capacitor reservoir sufficiently charged to produce the appropriate DC voltage needed by the electronic circuit. SMPS technology is very efficient because it does not utilize the "lossy" series regulator found in the linear power supply. Current is consumed from the circuit only when the charge state of the capacitor reservoir requires it. SMPS technology is "constant power" in that when line voltage decreases, the supply’s current consumption increases and when line voltage increases, current consumption decreases. SMPS technology is relatively immune to voltage regulation issues. However, the technology does not employ a stepdown transformer on the front end, which means that it does not satisfactorily isolate the electronic system from the electrical supply. SMPS technology produces electrical noise as a result of the high speed function of the switching transistors.
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Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
A system designed to automatically provide power in the event that utility power is interrupted. A UPS may be standby, line interactive, or on line. A UPS is not necessarily a power conditioner, and care must be taken to ensure that the UPS provides all the power quality requirements that are needed.
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Volt
A unit of electrical pressure. In a water system pressure might be expressed as pounds per square inch. In an electrical system, the pressure that causes electrons to move is called voltage. The voltage found in most homes is 120 and 240 volts. Businesses will typically utilize voltage at 120 and 208, or 277 and 480 volts.
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Volt-Ampere (VA)
The product of volts times amps. A kilovolt-ampere (kVA) is equal to one thousand volt-amperes. VA is also known as apparent power.
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Voltage
The electrical "pressure" that creates the flow of current.
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Watt (W)
A unit of power equal to the product of the value of current of one ampere flowing in phase with the pressure of one volt. A kilowatt is a thousand watts. Watts are an expression of real or true power.
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Watt Hour (Wh)
A unit of energy equal to the power of one watt for one hour. A kilo-watt hour is a thousand watt-hours.
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Waveform Distortion
Any power quality variation in the wave shape of the voltage or current.
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